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Sunday, June 26, 2011

Drinks for the Drinking Nonthusiast: Intro and Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen

So I'm not someone who is hugely knowledgeable about beers or even what supposedly makes them good. All I know is what I like and what I don't like. But you probably gathered that already from the tone of this blog! A little background on my taste in beer is necessary at this stage in the game. My first and favorite beer is Blue Moon. It's a wheat beer, which if you don't drink a whole lot of beer, just know that wheat beers have a very distinct flavor. I'm not sure how to describe it, but they tend to be a lot more bitter than another beer of the same color. I've found that I tend to gravitate towards wheat beers, so I will primarily be reviewing those, but sometimes I just grab something that has an appealing label (yes, I do get sucked into pretty labels sometimes!) My all time favorite beer, although more expensive and difficult to find, is UFO, and it is rather more bitter than Blue Moon, so I hope that helps you some what gauge where my tastes lie. Outside of the wheat beers, I sometimes drink Yuengling, but I don't touch Budweiser, Coors, Corona or any of those standard light beers that tend to show up at American college parties. Now on to the review!

I initially bought this beer because I was tired of Blue Moon and sad that the local liquor store doesn't stock UFO. And I wanted to try a kind of beer that I had never had. So this was chosen after looking around for a bit.

What are your initial thoughts?

When I took that first sip, I was a little disappointed. Having wanted something the with the strong flavor of UFO, this came across as very weak. There is the standard wheat beer flavor, but it almost tastes watered down to me. Even when compared to Blue Moon, Hefeweizen has a rather weak flavor. It is also advertised , vaguely, as having "pronounced citrus and floral aromas." The citrus turns out to be lemon, which isn't my favorite of citrus fruits. Lightly lemon-flavored drinks tend to make me think of cleaning products, so that flavor/ "aroma" brings this beer down a bit in my eyes. I guess if you don't like stronger wheat beers, you should check this one out, but I would suggest pursuing other beer options instead.

How's the price?

The lower price was one of the deciding factors for buying this beer over another beer. It cost me around $7 for a six-pack. I know that isn't terribly inexpensive, but it is better than some of the beer I was contemplating buying by a few dollars. As far as wheat beers go, Hefeweizen is less expensive than most, but I don't know if that is a redeeming quality for me. Beer is one of the few things that I will spend a little more on to get something I really like.

So would you buy this again?

Probably not. The lemon flavor isn't my favorite, and there are so many other beers out there just waiting for me to discover!